When you stab
You pierce hard;
When you soothe
It is like the refreshing wind
When one is soaked with sweat
from throttling heat.
You are like a word left unsaid
No hearer can discern it;
You are the dream of pharaoh
The very content of manifestos
The weight of wisdom in a fool's ravings
Empty void null.
Comforting agony
Refuge from labour
Citadel from torture
An escape from duty
The bereaved's best friend
The blind's loyal pal.
During your reign,
There existed a seeker
who groped in nothing less;
A seeker who collided with walls
when within his reach
was what he sought.
Here is a poem about darkness. The poet describes darkness by attributing human qualities to it.
The first stanza starts with ‘when you stab, you pierce hard’, this could result from how engulfing darkness can be; it dominates. ‘When you soothe, it is like the…’, the remaining lines speak of the sweet part of darkness. Darkness soothes, especially when one is going through hard times.
Darkness is further compared to ‘a word left unsaid’, there is no way a ‘hearer can discern it’. No one knows what is happening in the darkness. It is like ‘the dream of Pharaoh’ - the Egyptian king in the Bible that dreamt but could not recall his dream after waking up but still asked his men to find a meaning to it even though he could not relate it. Darkness is further compared to the contents of manifestos (the vain promises of many political parties and candidates before being elected), the weight of wisdom in a fool’s words. They are empty, null and void.
The third stanza further discusses what darkness is. A comforter as well as putting one in agony, a refuge ( a place to hide) from work, citadel (a place to hide) from torture, an escape from one’s duty, the best friend of someone mourning and the friend that can never betray the blind.
The last stanza relates the tale of someone looking for something in the darkness, of course such a person has to ‘…collide with walls when within his reach was what he sought’.
The poem is in four stanzas with each having six lines (a sestet). The poetic devices in the poem include personification, metaphor, simile and allusion.